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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
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    Phoenix, AZ
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    13

    Issues with Hand Pain - not sure what to do?!?

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    Hi All,

    So the run down is this...I got my Trek Madone 5.2 WSD a little over a month ago (I am new to cycling). I had some minor adjustments made when I first picked up the bike from LBS, have ridden 2-4 times per week (5-30 miles each depending), just had another more complete fitting on Wednesday and am still experiencing hand pain. I have searched all over several forums and it seems as though most people say "if your hands hurt then your fit is all wrong." Before I jump to that conclusion, I would just like to understand if some hand pain in the beginning is normal just because I'm not used to riding a road bike or if it really could be something more serious.

    Saddle? Started with a Selle SMP TRK with a huge channel which after a couple of weeks I took off because I am convinced cut-outs/channels may not be for me, was putting way too much pressure and pain on the girly parts up front. Now I have the saddle the bike came with back on, a Bontrager Inform RL WSD. This saddle isn't horridly uncomfortable, little hard on the sit bones but maybe I could get used to it...but it is 160mm wide and when I went in to a LBS to measure my sit bones the other day they said I should fit the 143mm. Anyone think a narrower saddle might make a difference?

    Stem length? At my fitting on Wednesday the lady at the LBS switched my stem from an 80mm to a 90mm as she said I looked a bit off with the shorter. Hand pain didn't increase, nor did it decrease.

    Riding position? Since most people start telling you your fit is wrong or something needs to be adjusted...could it just be that since I'm so new to all this that I don't know proper form with my body? I try to change hand positions frequently (every 30-60 seconds or so) but maybe I'm not doing it enough or maybe I'm not making a conscious enough effort to shift my body weight back or relax my arms?

    One last thing, the LBS I bought my bike from said I could trade out the 160mm saddle for the 143mm if I like but the shop is an hour's drive from where I live so I would hate to go all the way up there with my bike to switch the saddle just to find out that I hate it or it makes no difference.

    Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you.
    Last edited by blueeyesaz; 07-17-2009 at 06:46 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Beautiful NW or Left Coast
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    your hands shouldn't hurt. your hands aren't designed for weight bearing, so 'toughening them up' is not possible.
    One thing you can do is move your hands around A LOT. make sure you are not locking your elbows. Make sure you are not leaning on your hands.
    Are you doing core exercises? That's what is holding your body up so your hands don't have to do it.
    Now, do you have the shallow handlebars? shorter shifters?
    do you know what you are doing that hurts (like applying the brakes, maybe?)
    I don't think getting a smaller saddle is going to improve your hand problem.
    I like Bikes - Mimi
    Watercolor Blog

    Davidson Custom Bike - Cavaletta
    Dahon 2009 Sport - Luna
    Old Raleigh Mixte - Mitzi

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
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    Beautiful NW or Left Coast
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    ps on long rides i get some hand pain too. I think it's poor posture and age..\
    pps bontragers are famous for not being comfortable.
    I like Bikes - Mimi
    Watercolor Blog

    Davidson Custom Bike - Cavaletta
    Dahon 2009 Sport - Luna
    Old Raleigh Mixte - Mitzi

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    13
    Quote Originally Posted by Biciclista View Post
    your hands shouldn't hurt. your hands aren't designed for weight bearing, so 'toughening them up' is not possible.
    One thing you can do is move your hands around A LOT. make sure you are not locking your elbows. Make sure you are not leaning on your hands.
    Are you doing core exercises? That's what is holding your body up so your hands don't have to do it.
    Now, do you have the shallow handlebars? shorter shifters?
    do you know what you are doing that hurts (like applying the brakes, maybe?)
    I don't think getting a smaller saddle is going to improve your hand problem.
    I have caught myself locking my elbows on occasion but I'm trying to make sure I'm not doing that when riding, it's never for more than a moment or two. I am doing core exercises and I play tennis A LOT, hopefully that will get better with time? I do have the shallow handlebars and the shifters are shorter as they are designed for smaller hands being the wsd. Braking and shifting doesn't hurt as I'm just extending my fingers when doing that, it's mostly just when riding, when I'm "resting" my hands on the handlebars.

    What throws me off so much on trying to figure out the cause though is that I have had a couple of 25-30 mile rides where my hands haven't significantly bothered me, but for instance the other day I went out and not 10 minutes into my ride my hands were hurting so bad I had to cut it short and head home.
    Last edited by blueeyesaz; 07-17-2009 at 07:36 AM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
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    Beautiful NW or Left Coast
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    5,619
    be patient. People wiser than me will respond.
    I like Bikes - Mimi
    Watercolor Blog

    Davidson Custom Bike - Cavaletta
    Dahon 2009 Sport - Luna
    Old Raleigh Mixte - Mitzi

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Riding my Luna & Rivendell in the Hudson Valley, NY
    Posts
    8,408
    I'm certainly not wiser than Mimi, but I'll respond anyway!

    I find that when I don't pay attention, I tend to sag my weight down on my hands because it's the lazy thing to do when daydreaming along. I can get almost all the weight off my hands when I tilt my pelvis back (as in tipping my tailbone down and belly up). This makes me more aware of distributing my weight more evenly between hands, feet, and seat. I also sometimes make a game of riding with just my fingertips lightly touching the bars, sort of training my core to do more to hold me up.
    Perhaps this might help you.
    Sounds like with all that tennis and such, your hands should be quite strong enough already. Good to avoid the elbow locking thing at all costs though- as soon as you lock your elbows, all your torso weight tends to go right onto your hands.

    Good luck!
    Lisa
    My mountain dulcimer network...FOTMD.com...and my mountain dulcimer blog
    My personal blog:My blog
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
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    105
    My hands used to kill me. And go numb. To the point that I have permanant (I'm guessing?) numbness in my pointer fingers.

    My bike was TOO BIG.

    Also, my core was weak, so all the upper body weight fell straight to my hands, rather than my abs and back muscles supporting me.

    Also, in desperation I switched to Giro Xero gloves that have no padding.

    The combination of a smaller bike, core strength, and less padding has just about eliminated my hand pain.

    I also have to remember to move my hands around a lot, and sometimes ride with one hand while I shake out the other and restore bloodflow.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    1,057
    Not wiser, but different experience. After my bike fit I was having problems with my hands and wrists.

    Prior to the new bike, I had almost all my weight on my butt--the bikes I was riding were too long. My current bike better distributed the weight between my bit and hands.

    So, first, a new situation of weight on hands, but, the final fit had a small kink in the bend between my arms and hands. No amount of relaxing the elbows could take it out. The end result was pain in the hands.

    I played around with hand positions trying to figure out what I could do that would generate a straight line between my forearms and hands. In the end, I put on slightly wider handle bars and a stem that brought the bars up a short centimeter. No more hand pain.

    This may have no relation to you, but I would suggest not just looking at hand position, but the relationship between the forearm and hand--make sure you're not pinching a nerve.

    Oh, and glove/handlebar padding? Are you getting pressure points from your gloves? Some gloves really bug me--and, some new models of old favorites are now off the list. Look at where the pain is and then look to see if there are any external factors causing the problem.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    around Seattle, WA
    Posts
    3,238
    Have you had a proper fitting at your LBS? This should take more than 15 minutes.

    Cork wrap your handle bars? I've had to do this on Doctor's orders as I managed to pinch a nerve. Nothing quite like your hand no longer functioning - didn't hurt, but didn't work either. The cork wrap under regular handle bar tap will pad your bars.

    Different gloves?



    Hope your hands feel better.
    Beth

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Posts
    2,841
    Could you describe the hand pain - just general hand pain or? The only hand pain i can think of getting while riding is between my thumb and the rest of my hand sometimes. I'll just make suggestions based on what helped with my wrist pain - and some of this really may have already been addressed with your fittings, so sorry if it's way off.


    Things you can look at - the angle you hold your hands on the handlebar - it should be neutral, not bending back the bar.

    Move your hands while riding - don't keep them in the same place, periodically flex them.

    Gel padding under your handlebar could help.

    Getting a handlebar that has a wide flat spot instead of a round bar to hold on to may help - I use FSA wings.

    Don't rest your weight on your hands - if you saddle tilts forwards some, this may cause you to put weight on your hands.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Eugene, OR
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    123
    Quote Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl View Post
    I find that when I don't pay attention, I tend to sag my weight down on my hands because it's the lazy thing to do when daydreaming along. I can get almost all the weight off my hands when I tilt my pelvis back (as in tipping my tailbone down and belly up). This makes me more aware of distributing my weight more evenly between hands, feet, and seat. I also sometimes make a game of riding with just my fingertips lightly touching the bars, sort of training my core to do more to hold me up.
    +1 to all this. I finally "clicked" with what people meant when they said your core should be holding you up. What I found with me is that if I position myself properly so that that's happening, I *can't* reach my handlebars (I can just graze them with my fingertips). So either I need to change my handlebar adjustment, or my bike is just too big. I've got handlebars on their way right now that I'm hoping will help.

    Hopefully your bike being too big/handlebars inproperly adjusted shouldn't be an issue since you've had it professionally fitted!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    SF bay area
    Posts
    151
    something to consider about the saddle-- some cut-out "crotch saving" saddles have a "valley" between the padded bit that contacts the sit bones and nose. The selle italia atola is an example of this-- it has a diamond shape cutout, but also this valley that you can see if you look at the saddle from the side. Kind of a dip in the saddle, which I believe is supposed to help relieve pressure. Anyhow, I had some hand/arm discomfort with my newish custom bike (that otherwise fits fantastically well) and it was traced to my saddle. although the width was good for my sit bones, I tended to slide into the valley when riding (so, sliding a bit forward, off the padded bit) and compensated for this by holding myself in position farther back on the saddle with my arms. A new saddle that is more stable has eliminated this issue.

    Anyhow, just another factor to consider, along with reach issues (stem, bars (reach to brakes, etc) as noted by others in the thread

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    6,034
    I, too, would be interested to know exactly where the pain is and is it accompanied by any numbness either during or after the ride.

    I got a new custom bike this past March and have struggled with bad hand pain. From my experience, hand pain can be (1) an indication that you aren't balanced between front and back. Ideally, you want most (but not all) of your weight behind your crank. (2) an indication that your reach and/or saddle-to-bar drop are off. Unfortunately, figuring out where in space your handlebars should be is no easy task as it is a function of saddle drop, saddle for and aft position, the spacers under your stem, your stem length and rise and your handlebars themselves; (3) a function of the bars themselves, how they are designed and tilted, the bartape, and your gloves; (4) an indication that you have a weak core.

    Sound complicated? It is. I've been to two fitters and changed nearly every element I mentioned above, and my hands (while better) still hurt.
    Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Continue to learn. Appreciate your friends. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.

    --Mary Anne Radmacher

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    13
    As far as where the pain is located, the best way I can describe it is on the bottom of my palm and a bit it the sides on the opposite side of my hand from where my thumb is. Not a tingling or numbness, just plain ole pressure and soreness.

    I'm thinking it is probably a combination of my posture/laziness, not switching my hand position enough, and my gloves may not be the best for me (looks like they have stretched some and the gel pad is now farther over to the side of my hand as opposed to on the meatier part of my palm).

    I really don't think my bike is too big for me as I rode several before I purchased this one both bigger and smaller and this felt the best. I am 5ft 4.5in tall, 140lbs and ended up getting a 50cm frame.

    Looks like I will head up to LBS today to at least trade out saddle, can't hurt right? I'll have him take his best guess as to what might be causing the hand pain while I'm there. I got my actual fitting at a different LBS than where I bought my bike.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Central Indiana
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    6,034
    Quote Originally Posted by blueeyesaz View Post
    As far as where the pain is located, the best way I can describe it is on the bottom of my palm and a bit it the sides on the opposite side of my hand from where my thumb is. Not a tingling or numbness, just plain ole pressure and soreness.

    I'm thinking it is probably a combination of my posture/laziness, not switching my hand position enough, and my gloves may not be the best for me (looks like they have stretched some and the gel pad is now farther over to the side of my hand as opposed to on the meatier part of my palm).

    I really don't think my bike is too big for me as I rode several before I purchased this one both bigger and smaller and this felt the best. I am 5ft 4.5in tall, 140lbs and ended up getting a 50cm frame.

    Looks like I will head up to LBS today to at least trade out saddle, can't hurt right? I'll have him take his best guess as to what might be causing the hand pain while I'm there. I got my actual fitting at a different LBS than where I bought my bike.
    I'd add that hand pain can result from too cramped a set up, too. That was largely by problem. My handlebars needed to come up and out from their original set up. So my reach was both too low and too short. I actually do think we've made some progress with my issues. The nerves in my hands were SO irritated though that it might be some time--and maybe the winter break--to find complete relief.

    In any event, the only thing you can really do is experiment. Change a bit at a time.

    Good luck!
    Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Continue to learn. Appreciate your friends. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.

    --Mary Anne Radmacher

 

 

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